Picture a gut renovation in the Bronx. You're a painter working over a stairwell, and the contractor has taped slick plastic sheeting over every step to protect the finish. One foot slides, and in half a second you're at the bottom with a shattered kneecap and a hip that needs plates and screws. For decades, defense lawyers argued that a covering like that wasn't a "slipping hazard" under New York law. In 2024, the Court of Appeals disagreed — and in doing so, it strengthened

Somewhere in Queens right now — a sewer tie-in in Jamaica, a water service line in Flushing, a foundation excavation for new housing in Maspeth — a worker is standing at the bottom of a trench with nothing holding the walls back. A trench collapse takes seconds. The walls let go, and tons of soil bury a man where he stands, often close enough for his coworkers to hear him. If your family just got that phone call, you need to understand two things quickly: a trench collapse is